Five players on the pitch tomorrow at Arsenal could have graduated from the Southampton academy.

Captain and England new boy Adam ­Lallana, promising teen midfielder James Ward-Prowse and highly-rated left-back Luke Shaw could line up for Saints.

If they are the future, reminders of their past in the shape of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could play for Arsenal.

The Gunners are not the only ones to ­ benefit from all the hard work put in at ­Southampton's Staplewood HQ.

Tottenham, Swansea, Norwich, Fulham and Newcastle all have Saints academy ­graduates as first-team regulars. And that's just in the Premier League.